Thanks to Goodreads and Books are Ubiquitous, LLC for a gifted copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

Even when I’ve read a book that I end up not liking, I often find myself writing a longish review, as was the case with this book. Of course this is just my opinion, and you may feel differently, but consider all the other really great books available when you’re trying to decide what to read next.

Promoted as a wholesome and heartfelt small-town romance, this is the first in the 5-book Green Hills series and my introduction to this author as well.

Despite my overall disappointment, there were things about this book I liked, such as charming main character Maree Davenport. The youngest of three orphans who have survived the foster care system, Maree is now an adult living in Green Hills, a beautiful small town in southeast Oklahoma. She has a fabric design and quilting studio and is finishing her third book which pairs heirloom recipes with vintage-style quilts. I want to read these books!

Another entertaining aspect of this novel was how each chapter opens with a quote that hints at the topic in that chapter. One of my favorites was “If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month.” – Theodore Roosevelt.

The novel begins when Maree meets new-in-town hunky fireman Rhys Larsen, and it’s love at first sight for both of them. But Rhys has a painful past that prevents him from getting close to anyone. This should be where the story gains traction, but it’s where I started to lose interest. Everything became predictable and I had to wade through most of the novel before Rhys explains why he keeps pulling back from commitment.

And while we’re waiting for Rhys to grow up, we are inundated with a cascade of cliches – so many that identifying them would make a great drinking game. Did the author find a list of these cliches on the internet and see how many she could include? Did no one caution her and suggest she actually write creatively instead of falling back on trite phrases? Here are a few examples I came across: “gathered her wits, Sadie Jones was eighty if she was a day, Millie had been a hair’s breath away from giving up, ships passing in the night, she absolutely would not allow herself to go down that path, put on her game face, natural zest for life, massive dose of guilt, stuck to his guns, stood there glued in place, her mind was reeling, stomach had plummeted, choosing his words with care, in the blink of an eye, treading on thin ice, sounding very much like the cat that just ate the canary, I never look a gift horse in the mouth, his actions had spoken louder than his words.”

In addition to the simplistic writing and predictability of plot and characters, I think it’s important to alert readers to a *Content warning* related to the description of the serious car accident and surgical procedures that occur in the book. While this is a “closed door” novel as far as romance goes, the author doesn’t hesitate to graphically describe the injuries and medical treatment in vivid detail. Too much detail for me.

Even though I finished the novel, for the reasons stated here I can only give it two stars and won’t be reading any others in the series. ( )